Cargo sale and transfer of transportation rights... Korean Air-Asiana merger issues accelerate = Korea

As Korean Air and Asiana Airlines are undergoing merger procedures, the process of completing preparatory tasks for the business combination will begin to pick up steam this month, starting with the selection of a preferred negotiating partner for the sale of Asiana Airlines' cargo division.
Korean Air plans to complete the final hurdle, the US approval procedures, by October of this year. On the 3rd, according to the industry, Korean Air and the seller UBS had agreed to a sale agreement with Asiana Airlines at the end of last month.
The company has completed its on-site investigation of potential buyers for the air cargo division. Prior to this, three companies, including Air Premier, Air Incheon, and Eastar Jet, participated in the main bidding in April. The seller selected the company as the preferred negotiating target last month.
The company was scheduled to select a bidder and conclude a share purchase agreement, but the deadline for on-site inspection was longer than expected, which caused a delay. The company plans to select a preferred bidder by the end of this month and conclude a sales payment agreement that includes the terms of the contract.
The plan is to conclude a deal with the European Commission (EC) to approve the buyer. The EC has already agreed to a trade deal between Korean Air and Asia Airlines under the conditions of the sale of the cargo business.
The European Commission granted conditional approval for the merger of ANA in February of this year. The seller plans to complete the EU re-approval process before October.
The process of transferring European routes, which the EC has set as a separate condition, is also progressing.
To reduce concerns about monopoly on European routes, T'way Airlines was designated as an alternative airline for four routes: Paris, Frankfurt, Rome, and Barcelona, and pilots were dispatched.
The process is currently underway. However, there are still issues regarding the transfer of European routes. The French aviation authorities have expressed the opinion that T'way Air's launch of flights to Paris is a "violation of the aviation agreement."
Due to an air transport agreement between France and Korea, only two Korean airlines are allowed to fly to Paris. Currently, Korean Air and Asiana are in service. T'way Air launches Incheon-Paris route.
The French aviation authorities are of the opinion that they will be excluded from such aviation agreements. As a result, T'way Air, which was originally scheduled to start flights to Paris at the end of this month, one month before the Paris Olympics, has cancelled its plans.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and Korean Air plan to complete discussions with French aviation authorities as soon as possible. A Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport official said, "We plan to make an announcement once the discussions are over."
The final step in the merger is to complete the review process in the United States. Currently, Korean Air has received approval from 13 of the 14 countries where it must file, excluding the United States. Initially, Korean Air was expected to file this year.
The company had been pursuing negotiations with the goal of completing the US review procedures by the first half of the year, but this appears to have been delayed by about four months.
Hanjin Group Chairman Cho Won-tae also held a Bloomberg meeting in Dubai on the 2nd (local time) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
"We will receive U.S. approval for the Asiana Airlines merger by the end of October this year," he said in an interview with the Korea News Agency. "We have done everything the U.S. and the EU have asked us to do."
” he emphasized.